CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. — Four home runs and five double plays fueled BYU softball to doubleheader wins against Hawai’i and UC Santa Barbara at the Big League Dreams Complex on Friday evening.
- Game 1
- Game 2
Game 1: BYU 4 | Hawai’i 3
Bre Townsend, Lindy Milkowski and Hailey Morrow each homered in the final two innings, with the latter proving to be the game winner as the Cougars (8-3, 0-0 Big 12) slid past the Rainbow Wahine.
Player Highlights
- Hailey Morrow: 2-3, HR, RBI
- Lindy Milkowski: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI
- Bre Townsend: 1-3, HR, RBI
- Alyssa Aguilar (W, 1-0): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
- Kaysen Korth (S, 2): 1 IP
BYU had a pair of runners in scoring position in the top of the third inning, but a pop out squandered the opportunity.
UH saw the same opportunity in the home half of the third and was able to capitalize, bringing three runners home on a single, double and sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead.
The Cougars finally broke through in the sixth inning when Townsend sent a two-out homer just past the center field fence, the second of her collegiate career and in as many games. Milkowski followed that up a batter later with a two-run shot to right center, tying the game at three.
In the bottom of the sixth, Hawai’i drew a leadoff walk before BYU just missed out on a double play. The Cougars connected the next batter, however, doubling off the Bows, 5-4-3.
Morrow gave BYU the lead in the seventh inning, sending a 2-2 pitch towering past the left field fence for a 4-3 advantage.
Kaysen Korth came on to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, shutting down UH on nine pitches to pick up her second save of the season and complete the comeback Cougar win.
Game 2: BYU 5 | UC Santa Barbara 0
An Aleia Agbayani home run and three double plays to go along with seven strikeouts by Korth backed the Cougars (9-3, 0-0 Big 12) en route to the shutout victory.
Player Highlights
- Aleia Agbayani: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI
- Lily Owens: 2-3
- Maddie Udall-Woolley: 2-4, 2B
- Lindy Milkowski: 1-3, RBI
- Hailey Morrow: 1-2, 2B, RBI
- Kaysen Korth (W, 6-0): 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K
Despite some action on the base paths, the first three innings went scoreless. BYU did plate a run in the second inning, but it was called back after the Cougars batted out of order in the frame.
BYU broke the game open in the top of the fourth. After a Lily Owens walk, Morrow doubled to score Owens. Morrow scored on a sacrifice bunt from Lauren Flanders before Agbayani hammered a two-run homer down the left field line, also scoring Miranda Mansfield, who pinch ran after Maddie Udall-Woolley singled.
The Cougars added another run in the seventh on a pair of UCSB errors, a sacrifice bunt and Milkowski single through the left side.
After the Gauchos got their leadoff runner on in the bottom of the seventh inning, BYU turned two for the third time in the game, with all three started by Morrow at short. Korth struck out the next batter swinging, going the distance for the second night in a row and posting her first complete game shutout since 2023.
On Deck
The Cougars will conclude Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic play on Saturday, Feb. 22 against No. 11/14 Duke at 9:30 a.m. PT, with streaming on FloCollege.